World Photography Day: Pictures from outer space that will blow your mind

The Eskimo Nebula, which looks like the Eye of Sauron looking out over the universe, remains a mystery to the scientific community. Even the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) asserts that the gas clouds are too complex to be fully understood as of now.The Crab Nebula — located 6,500 light-years away from Earth — is the result of a bright supernova explosion that history dictates was seen by Chinese and other astronomers back in 1054.At the heart of the nebula lies a neutron star that’s just about as massive as the Sun, but it’s only as big as a small town, according to NASAThe Spitzer Space Telescope’s infrared camera caught this picture of the centre of the Milky Way last year.This the farthest-ever view that the Hubble Space Telescope has on record of the universe. It shows thousands of galaxies billions of light-years away in a single frame. Some are spirals like the Milky Way, other hazy reddish blobs are the result of collisions between galaxies.Few of the very tiny, faint galaxies could be mere seeds from which the biggest galaxies could have sprung. It took Hubble 10 years of data to put this picture together.What look like delicate butterfly wings are actually rolling waves of gas burning at nearly 20,000 degrees Celsius. At the centre of it is a dying star around five times the mass of the Sun.The planetary nebula called NGC 6302 is around 3,800 light-years away from Earth, and the gas its expelling is travelling faster than 950,000 kilometers per hour. At that speed, a journey between the Earth and the Moon would only take 24 minutes.The Hubble has taken many pictures of the Eagle Nebula over the years, but none more stunning than the ‘Pillars of Creation’. The pillars are only a small part of the nebula, but have stars being born within the wispy columns.This is the other image of the Eagle Nebula that shines a light on the new stars being born within its folds.The tower of cold gas and dust whips itself around to look like a winged creature sitting on a pedestal. Not every picture from outer space is shiny with explosions and stars being born. Sometimes even the most subtle of imagery can have an impact. The giant elliptical galaxy NGC 1316 is like dust bunnies lurking in the corners of the universe, evidence of what happens when two gas-rich galaxies merge.This entire pillar of the Cone Nebula is seven light-years long. Just the upper lit portion, which accounts for 2.5 light-years, equals 23 million roundtrips to the Moon. Radiation from the younger and searing hot stars within the nebula has eroded it over the years.Nearly 3000 light-years away, within the constellation Sagittarius, huge waves — nearly 100 billion kilometres high — are forming because of supersonic shocks.

World Photography Day: Pictures from outer space that will blow your mind

Eskimo Nebula — Eye of Sauron looking out over the universe

Crab Nebula — the star that went supernova less than a millennia ago

The Milky Way bathing in red

The deepest view of the universe till date provided by the Hubble Space Telescope

An outer space explosion disguised as a butterfly

The iconic ‘Pillars of Creation’

The rising eagle

Dust bunnies

Beast in the crimson sea

Surfs Up

World Photography Day: Pictures from outer space that will blow your mind

​Eskimo Nebula — Eye of Sauron looking out over the universe

​Crab Nebula — the star that went supernova less than a millennia ago

​The Milky Way bathing in red

​The deepest view of the universe till date provided by the Hubble Space Telescope

​An outer space explosion disguised as a butterfly

The iconic ‘Pillars of Creation’

​The rising eagle

​Dust bunnies

​Beast in the crimson sea

​Surfs Up

Eskimo Nebula — Eye of Sauron looking out over the universe

Crab Nebula — the star that went supernova less than a millennia ago

The Milky Way bathing in red

The deepest view of the universe till date provided by the Hubble Space Telescope

An outer space explosion disguised as a butterfly

The rising eagle

Dust bunnies

Beast in the crimson sea

Surfs Up